IN a series of coordinated State of Emergency (SoE) operations carried out between Old Year’s and New Year’s Day, four men were arrested and eight firearms, along with various quantities of ammunition, were seized, a release by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) stated on Wednesday.
This follows the detention of 46 in the first few hours after the SoE was announced on Monday.
The operations began on the evening of December 31, 2024, with a targeted exercise in the Western Division. Between 5.30 pm and 9.30 pm, officers from the Western Division Gang Intelligence Unit and the Criminal Investigations Department executed a search at a residence on Pioneer Drive, Petit Valley. Here, they uncovered a significant cache of weapons hidden in a bedroom. The items seized included an AR-15 rifle, two CZ pistols, a Glock pistol, and a Smith and Wesson pistol, along with an assortment of ammunition in 5.56, 9mm, .38, and .40 calibres.
Additionally, US$25,000 and TT$139,865 in cash were found and submitted to the Financial Intelligence Bureau. A 55-year-old man was arrested at the scene and taken to the Carenage Police Station.
The operation was sanctioned by Senior Superintendent Williams, coordinated by ASP Lynch, Inspector Grant, and Sergeant Jeanville, and supervised by Acting Sergeant Ryan, Corporals Garcia, Khan, Benjamin, and Joseph.
In the North Eastern Division, on January 1, 2025, around 6 am, PC Villaroel and PC Boisson responded to reports of an armed individual in the Crichlow Hill area. Upon arrival, they spotted a man moving quickly through a crowd, attempting to conceal an object.
When the officers instructed him to stop, he dropped the object and fled. The item was identified as an AR-15 rifle with a magazine containing 23 rounds of 5.56 ammunition. The rifle was seized, and PC Villaroel is continuing the investigation.
Later, around 6.30 am, officers PC Chinpire and PC O’Connor, while on duty along Laventille Road, San Juan, stopped a vehicle driven by a known individual. A search revealed a Smith and Wesson firearm with five rounds of ammunition in the front passenger seat.
The driver, a 27-year-old from Momo Trace, Aranguez, and two passengers, aged 31 and 36 from Febeau Village, San Juan, were arrested and taken to the San Juan Police Station.
In the Southern Division, officers conducting an SOE anti-crime operation on the SS Erin Road pursued a speeding vehicle that overtook their patrol unit.
During the pursuit, they observed the passenger discard an object out of the window. Although the vehicle evaded capture, the officers recovered a revolver containing three rounds of ammunition. The weapon was seized and transported to the San Fernando Police Station.
